Apparatus for manufacturing flat-panel display

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein is a flat panel display (FPD) manufacturing apparatus for performing a desired process for a substrate positioned in a chamber after establishing a vacuum atmosphere in the chamber. The vacuum chamber is divided into a chamber body and an upper cover to ensure easy opening/closing operations of the upper cover.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Divisional Application of prior U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/239,398 filed Sep. 29, 2005, which claimspriority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Korean Application Nos. 79416/2004filed on Oct. 6, 2004; 83843/2004 filed on Oct. 20, 2004; 94230/2004filed on Nov. 17, 2004; 102975/2004 filed on Dec. 8, 2004 and111693/2004 filed on Dec. 24, 2004, whose entire disclosures are herebyincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing aflat-panel display (FPD), which can perform a desired process for an FPDsubstrate after establishing a vacuum atmosphere therein, and, moreparticularly, to an FPD manufacturing apparatus in which a vacuumchamber is divided into a chamber body and an upper cover, whereby theupper cover can be easily opened and closed.

2. Description of the Related Art

Flat-panel display (FPD) manufacturing apparatuses are designed to feedan FPD substrate thereinto and to perform a desired process, such as anetching process, for the FPD substrate by use of plasma, etc. Examplesof FPDs include LCDs, PDPs, OLEDs, etc. Among such FPD manufacturingapparatuses, a general vacuum processing apparatus comprises threevacuum chambers including a load lock chamber, a transfer chamber, and aprocessing chamber.

The load lock chamber is used to receive a substrate, which will beprocessed in the FPD manufacturing apparatus, from an external stationfor loading the substrate or to discharge a substrate completelyprocessed in the FPD manufacturing apparatus for unloading thesubstrate. The transfer chamber is provided with a robot for feeding asubstrate between respective chambers, so that it conveys the substrate,which will be processed, from the load lock chamber to the processingchamber or conveys the substrate, which was completely processed, fromthe processing chamber to the load lock chamber. The processing chamberis used to perform a film deposition process or etching process for asubstrate by use of plasma or thermal energy under a vacuum atmosphere.

Due to the fact that a variety of gases or plasma is used in theprocessing chamber, equipment provided in the processing chamber may bedamaged or polluted if a great number of processes are repeated and,thus, it is necessary to periodically exchange or repair the equipment.For this reason, as shown in FIG. 1, the processing chamber, designatedby reference numeral 1, generally consists of a chamber body 10 and anupper cover 20, so that the upper cover 20 of the processing chamber 1can be opened and closed for the maintenance and repair of the chamberinterior. To open and close the upper cover 20, conventionally, a cranehas been mounted to the top of a clean room in which the processingchamber 1 is provided, so that the upper cover 20 is opened and closedby use of the crane. Alternatively, the processing chamber is equippedwith opening/closing means to open and close the upper cover.

Referring to FIG. 2, an example of the conventional opening/closingmeans for the upper cover 20 is illustrated. As shown in FIG. 2, theupper cover opening/closing means 50 is provided at the outside of theprocessing chamber 1 to open and close the upper cover 20. Theopening/closing means 50 includes a vertical drive unit to verticallylift the upper cover 20, a horizontal drive unit to horizontally movethe upper cover 20, and a rotating unit to rotate the upper cover 20.Additionally, the opening/closing means 50 is provided with a horizontalmovement guide 60 to provide a movement path of the horizontal driveunit.

Hereinafter, the opening/closing procedure of the upper cover 20 carriedout by the opening/closing means 50 having the above configuration willbe explained. First, the upper cover 20 is lifted vertically by apredetermined height by use of the vertical drive unit included in theopening/closing means 50. In succession, the upper cover 20 ishorizontally moved along the horizontal movement guide 60 in a state ofbeing lifted. After completing such a horizontal movement, the uppercover 20 is rotated by 180° by use of the rotating unit. As a result,both the chamber body 10 and the upper cover 20 of the processingchamber 1 are opened to enable exchange or repair of respectiveequipment provided in the processing chamber 1.

However, the size of a substrate to be processed by the FDPmanufacturing apparatus has been recently increased, and accordingly,the size of vacuum chambers included in the FDP manufacturing apparatusis rapidly increasing. For example, in the case of a current availablevacuum chamber, an upper cover thereof not only has a large size of 3 by4 meters, but also has a heavy weight of more than 3 to 4 tons.Therefore, in order to vertically lift the large-size heavy upper coverof the vacuum chamber, it is necessary to provide the vertical driveunit with an air cylinder having an extremely high capacity.Furthermore, the bulky upper cover exhibits an increase in the lack ofstability when it is vertically lifted, adversely affecting maintenanceand repair in the interior of the vacuum chamber.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the aboveproblems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an FPDmanufacturing apparatus capable of easily opening/closing an uppercover.

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, the aboveand other objects can be accomplished by the provision of an FPDmanufacturing apparatus comprising: a vacuum chamber including a chamberbody and an upper cover located at an upper side of the chamber body toface the chamber body, the chamber body being spaced apart from thechamber body by a predetermined distance; sealing means separablycoupled to the upper cover to seal rims of the chamber body and theupper cover; a pair of rotating units coupled to corresponding positionsof opposite lateral surfaces of the upper cover and adapted to rotatethe upper cover; a pair of horizontal drive units coupled to therotating units, respectively, and adapted to support the upper covercoupled to the rotating units and to horizontally move the upper cover;track units coupled to the horizontal drive units, respectively, toprovide a movement path of the horizontal drive units; and one or moreprocessor units provided in the vacuum chamber to perform a desiredprocess for an object loaded in the vacuum chamber.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, the aboveand other objects can be accomplished by the provision of an FPDmanufacturing apparatus for performing a desired process for a substrateloaded into a chamber under a vacuum atmosphere after generating plasmain the chamber, wherein: the chamber includes: a lower chamber; and anupper chamber disposed on the lower chamber to be opened away from orclosed to the lower chamber, coupling surfaces of the lower and upperchambers being inclined downwardly in a movement direction of the upperchamber; and the FPD manufacturing apparatus comprises: a pair ofhorizontal drive units to support the upper chamber in a horizontallymovable manner; and a pair of rotating units to rotatably support theupper chamber.

In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention, the aboveand other objects can be accomplished by the provision of an upper coveropening/closing device for use in an FPD manufacturing apparatus thatperforms a desired process for a substrate loaded into a vacuum chamber,comprising: a cover loading unit to support and rotate an upper coverseparated from the vacuum chamber; and a track unit to provide amovement path for moving the cover loading unit to a location close tothe vacuum chamber, wherein a movable block is provided at a portion ofthe cover loading unit to be coupled with the track unit, to allow thecover loading unit to move along the track unit in a state of beingseated on the track unit.

In accordance with a fourth aspect of the present invention, the aboveand other objects can be accomplished by the provision of an upper coveropening/closing device for opening/closing an upper cover provided on avacuum chamber of an FPD manufacturing apparatus that performs a desiredprocess for a substrate loaded into the vacuum chamber, comprising: alinkage independent of the upper cover, the linkage being coupled to theupper cover to pivotally rotate the upper cover along a parabolic orbit,to be opened away from or closed to the vacuum chamber.

In accordance with a fifth aspect of the present invention, the aboveand other objects can be accomplished by the provision of an FPDmanufacturing apparatus for performing a desired process for a substrateloaded into a chamber under a vacuum atmosphere comprising: a transferchamber provided therein with a transfer robot to load or unload asubstrate to or from a load lock chamber or processing chamber, aseparable upper cover being provided on an upper end of the transferchamber to move the transfer robot to an external station; and a pair ofhorizontal drive units provided at opposite sides of the transferchamber to support the upper cover in a horizontally movable manner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of thepresent invention will be more clearly understood from the followingdetailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view illustrating the structure of a processingchamber provided in a prior art FPD manufacturing apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an example of an upper coveropening/closing means usable with the prior art processing chamber;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating an FPD manufacturingapparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view illustrating the interior structure of theFPD manufacturing apparatus according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIGS. 5A to 5C are partial sectional views illustrating alternativeembodiments of sealing means according to the present invention;

FIGS. 6A to 6D are perspective views explaining the opening/closingprocedure of an upper cover employed in the FPD manufacturing apparatusaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a side view illustrating the configuration of an FPDmanufacturing apparatus according to a third embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIGS. 8A and 8B are partial sectional views illustrating operation of asealing member drive unit according to the third embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIGS. 9A and 9B are partial sectional views illustrating operation ofanother sealing member drive unit according to the third embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIGS. 10A and 10B are partial sectional views illustrating operation ofa sealing member according to the third embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIGS. 11A and 11B are views explaining an upper chamber opening/closingprocedure performed by the FPD manufacturing apparatus according to thethird embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a plan view illustrating the configuration and layout of anupper cover opening/closing device according to a fourth embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 13 is a side view of FIG. 12;

FIGS. 14A and 14B are perspective views illustrating different examplesof a cover loading unit and a track unit included in the upper coveropening/closing device according to the fourth embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view illustrating the configuration of an uppercover opening/closing device according to a fifth embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIGS. 16A to 16E are side views illustrating the upper cover openingprocedure caused by a linkage as the upper cover opening/closing deviceaccording to the fifth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a configuration diagram schematically illustrating an FPDmanufacturing apparatus according to a sixth embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view illustrating a transfer chamber accordingto the sixth embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 19A and 19B are sectional views illustrating the opening procedureof an upper cover provided at the transfer chamber of FIG. 18; and

FIGS. 20A and 20B are partially enlarged views illustrating means forlifting the upper cover from the transfer chamber of FIG. 18.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will beexplained with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First Embodiment

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrating an FPD manufacturing apparatusaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention, the FPDmanufacturing apparatus 100 of the first embodiment comprises: a vacuumchamber 110; sealing means 120; a rotating unit 130; a horizontal driveunit 140; a track unit 150; and processor units 160 and 170.

The vacuum chamber 110 is designed to establish a vacuum atmospheretherein. In the present embodiment, the vacuum chamber 110 is dividedinto a chamber body 114 and an upper cover 112. The chamber body 114forms a lower chamber section of the vacuum chamber 110, and isconstituted by a bottom wall and a sidewall vertically extending upwardfrom the periphery of the bottom wall. The upper cover 112 forms anupper chamber section of the vacuum chamber 110, and is constituted by atop wall and a sidewall vertically extending downward from the peripheryof the top wall. As the upper cover 112 is coupled with the chamber body114, the vacuum chamber 110 is completed. In such a coupled state,according to the present embodiment, the upper cover 112 and the chamberbody 114 are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance,rather than being directly coupled with each other. Accordingly, theupper cover 112 does not come into close contact with the chamber body114 even after being coupled to the chamber body 114. The upper cover112 is positioned to correspond to the chamber body 114, and is thensupported by means of the horizontal movement unit 140, so that it isspaced apart from the top of the chamber body 114 by a predetermineddistance while being supported by the horizontal drive unit 140.

As a result, there is a gap between the chamber body 114 and the uppercover 112. The sealing means 120 serves to close such a gap by sealingrims of the chamber body 114 and the upper cover 112. As will be easilyunderstood, in a state wherein the chamber body 114 and the upper cover112 are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance,establishing a vacuum atmosphere in the vacuum chamber 110 requiresmeans for sealing the gap therebetween. In the present embodiment, thesealing means 120 is detachably coupled to the upper cover 112.

For this, the chamber body 114 is provided around an upper end surfacethereof with a lower flange 114 a, which extends along the entire upperend surface to protrude outward from the chamber 110. The upper cover112 is provided around a lower end surface thereof with an upper flange112 a, which extends along the entire lower end surface to protrudeoutward from the chamber 110. Here, the upper and surface of the chamberbody 114 and the lower end surface of the upper cover 112 are,respectively, an upper end surface of the sidewall of the chamber body114 and a lower end surface of the sidewall of the upper cover 112.

Correspondingly, the sealing means 120 is provided with upper and lowercontact regions 122 and 124, which come into close contact with therespective upper and lower flanges 112 a and 114 a. To achieve a perfectseal between the upper and lower contact regions 122 and 124 and theupper and lower flanges 112 a and 114 a, it is essential that contactsurfaces of respective members be shaped to correspond to each other.

However, due to the fact that a chamber sidewall is usually made of ahard material such as metal, generation of a fine gap between thecontact surfaces is unavoidable even if the upper and lower flanges andthe upper and lower contact regions are very delicately machined. Forthis reason, it is very difficult to maintain perfect air-tightness ofthe chamber. To solve this problem, it is desirable that the upper andlower contact regions 122 and 124 be provided at the contact surfacesthereof with sealing subsidiaries 126 and 128, respectively. The sealingsubsidiaries 126 and 128 are slightly flexible lines. Accordingly, whenthe sealing means 120 comes into close contact with the upper and lowerflanges 112 a and 114 a, the sealing subsidiaries 126 and 128 areslightly constricted in a state of being interposed between the upperand lower flanges 112 a and 114 a and the upper and lower contactregions 122 and 124, to prevent generation of the fine gap between allthe contact surfaces. In a particular case, the sealing subsidiaries 126and 128 may be constituted, respectively, by two or more lines arrangedparallel to each other for the sake of a more perfect sealing effect.Also, to prevent the sealing subsidiaries 126 and 128 from shifting fromtheir ideal positions, it is desirable that sealing subsidiarypositioning and fixing grooves be formed at the upper and lower contactregions 122 and 124.

Hereinafter, several examples of the contact surface shape of therespective members according to the present embodiment will be explainedwith reference to FIGS. 4 and 5A to 5C.

First, as shown in FIG. 4, the upper and lower contact regions 122 and124 of the sealing means 120 define an L-shaped cross section so thatthey are horizontally parallel to a ground surface. Accordingly, thecontact surfaces of the upper and lower flanges 112 a and 114 a, whichwill come into close contact with the contact regions 122 and 124, areconfigured to be horizontally parallel to the ground surface.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 5A, sealing means 120 a may haveinclined upper and lower contact regions 122 a and 124 a andcorresponding upper and lower flanges 112 a and 114 a to be coupled withthe upper and lower contact regions 122 a and 124 a may be inclined withthe same angle as the contact regions 122 a and 124 a. This inclinedconfiguration increases a contact area between the respective members ascompared to the previously described horizontal configuration, and canachieve an enhancement in sealing effect. Furthermore, the inclinedupper and lower contact regions 122 a and 124 a having an increased areaenable a plurality of sealing subsidiaries 126 a and 128 a to be easilyarranged thereon.

Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C, only one of the upper andlower contact regions 122 a and 124 a has an inclined shape.

The sealing means 120 of the present embodiment is further provided witha vertical drive unit 129 to be moved vertically in an automated manner.Specifically, a plurality of vertical drive units 129 are coupled to thebottom of the sealing means 120 to vertically move the sealing means120. Referring again to FIG. 3, in the present embodiment, four verticaldrive units 129 are provided at respective corners of the sealing means120 to vertically move the sealing means 120 with an enhanced stability.Alternatively, two vertical drive units 129 may be provided at oppositelateral surfaces of the sealing means 120, respectively. Upon opening ofthe upper cover 112, the vertical drive units 129 act to move thesealing means 120 downward, in order to prevent friction between theupper cover 112 and the sealing means 120.

Each of the vertical drive units 129 consists of a cylinder rod and acylinder as shown in FIG. 4. The cylinder rod is coupled to the bottomof the sealing means 120 and serves to move the sealing means 120 in avertical direction. The cylinder is coupled to a lower end of thecylinder rod and serves to drive the cylinder rod. Here, the cylindermay be a pneumatic cylinder or hydraulic cylinder. Accordingly, thecylinder rod is moved vertically upon receiving a cylinder pressure, sothat the sealing means 120, connected to the cylinder rod, is movedvertically.

The rotating unit 130 serves to rotate the upper cover 112, so that theinterior of the upper cover 112 faces upward to be exposed to theoutside. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, a pair ofrotating units 130 is coupled to corresponding central positions ofopposite lateral surfaces of the upper cover 112 by interposing shafts.Each of the rotating units 130 contains a motor, which provides a driveforce required to rotate the upper cover 112 coupled to the rotatingunits 130. Preferably, a bearing is inserted in a coupling portionbetween each shaft, which is coupled to the upper cover 112, and thecorresponding rotation motor, to minimize generation of frictional forceupon rotation of the upper cover 112, thereby ensuring smooth rotationof the upper cover 112.

A pair of the horizontal drive units 140 is coupled to a respective oneof the rotating units 130, so that they serve to support the upper cover112 and to horizontally move the upper cover 112 coupled to the rotatingunits 130. Specifically, the horizontal drive units 140 are coupled tothe bottom of the respective rotating units 130, which are previouslycoupled to the upper cover 112, so that they not only support the uppercover 112, but also horizontally move the upper cover 112 upon openingof the upper cover 112. Admittedly, the horizontal drive units 140 maybe directly coupled to certain portions of the upper cover 112 withoutinterposing the rotating units 130. Each of the horizontal drive units140 consists of a rotating unit coupling portion, a supporting shaft,and a track unit coupling portion for horizontal movement thereof.

A pair of the track units 150 is coupled to a respective one of thehorizontal drive units 140 for providing a movement path of thehorizontal drive units 140. That is, when it is desired to horizontallymove the upper cover 112 to open the upper cover 112, the track units150 provide an accurate and stable path for horizontal movement of thehorizontal drive units 140. If such an accurate and stable movement pathfor the horizontal drive units 140 is not provided, the horizontal driveunits 140 may be operate in an unsafe fashion because the upper cover112, supported by the horizontal drive units 140, has a very large sizeand heavy weight. The track units 150 of the present embodiment, asshown in FIG. 3, take the form of linear guides. The track units 150 arecoupled to a lower frame (not shown), which is installed on the floor ofa clean room so that the vacuum chamber 110 is spaced apart from theclean room floor. Accordingly, the track units 150 can be convenientlyinstalled without requiring a difficult process to drill track unitinstallation holes through sidewalls of the vacuum chamber 110.

The processor units (not shown in FIG. 3) serve to perform a desiredprocess for a substrate loaded in the vacuum chamber 110. Here, thedesired process for the substrate includes a deposition process forforming a film, made of a desired material, on a substrate surface, andan etching process for removing a fraction of the formed film.Accordingly, the vacuum chamber 110 according to the present embodimentis applicable to various processing apparatuses including a depositionapparatus and an etching apparatus. For example, a dry etchingapparatus, includes, as processor units, upper and lower electrodesprovided in upper and lower locations of a chamber, an electric powersupplier for supplying RF electric power to the upper and lowerelectrodes, and a gas supplier for introducing process gas into thechamber.

The FPD manufacturing apparatus 100 according to the present embodimentfurther comprises a control unit to control opening/closing operationsof the upper cover 112. When the sealing means 120 has to be lowered bya predetermined distance for smooth opening of the upper cover 112, thecontrol unit controls associated elements based on preset data relatedto desired operating time and lowering distance of the vertical driveunits 129. Then, if the sealing means 120 is completely lowered, thecontrol unit controls the horizontal drive units 140 to horizontallymove the upper cover 112 based on preset data related to desiredmovement speed and distance of the horizontal drive units 140. If thehorizontal drive units 140 are moved by a sufficient distance forrotation of the upper cover 112, the control unit immediately drives therotating units 130 to rotate the upper cover 112 by an exact angle of180 degrees.

Hereinafter, the opening/closing procedure of the upper cover 112provided in the FPD manufacturing apparatus 100 according to the presentembodiment will be described.

The FPD manufacturing apparatus 100 according to the present embodimentis adapted to perform a desired process for a substrate in a statewherein the chamber body 114 and the upper cover 112 are hermeticallysealed by the sealing means 120 as shown in FIG. 6A. When it isnecessary to repair elements provided inside the chamber, first, thevertical drive units 129 are driven to space the sealing means 120 apartfrom both the upper cover 112 and the chamber body 114 by predetermineddistances as shown in FIG. 6B. If the sealing means 120 is separatedfrom the upper cover 112, the upper cover 112 is easily movable in ahorizontal direction because only the rotating units 130 are in contactwith the upper cover 112.

Then, if the sealing means 120 is completely lowered, the horizontaldrive units 140 are driven to separate the upper cover 112 from the topof the chamber body 114 as shown in FIG. 6C. Specifically, thehorizontal drive units 140 are horizontally moved along the track units150 to provide the upper cover 112 with a sufficient rotation radius.

If the sufficient rotation radius of the upper cover 112 is secured, therotating units 130 are driven to rotate the upper cover 112 by 180degrees as shown in FIG. 6D. As a result, the interior of the uppercover 112 faces upward, so that maintenance and repair operations can becarried out for various processor units arranged in the upper cover 112.

If all the maintenance and repair operations are completed, the uppercover 112 is closed by performing the above opening procedure inreverse.

The present embodiment allows the upper cover 112 to be opened andclosed in an automated manner under operation of the control unit, sothat chamber maintenance and repair operations can be more easilycarried out.

Second Embodiment

An FPD manufacturing apparatus according to the present embodimentcomprises: a vacuum chamber; sealing means; and processor units. In thesame manner as the first embodiment, the vacuum chamber includes achamber body and an upper cover, and the sealing means is configured toseal rims of the chamber body and the upper cover. The processor unitsare arranged in the vacuum chamber to perform a desired process for asubstrate. The configurations and functions of the vacuum chamber,sealing means, and processor units are identical to those of the firstembodiment, and accordingly, no further description will be given.

Differently from the first embodiment, the FPD manufacturing apparatusof the present embodiment is not provided with the rotating units,horizontal movement units, and track units. The upper cover of thepresent embodiment is spaced apart from the chamber body by apredetermined distance by use of separate supporting members. Thesupporting members are coupled at lower ends thereof to theabove-described lower frame to support the upper cover. Upper ends ofthe supporting members are separably coupled to the upper cover. Asoccasion demands, four supporting members may be coupled to respectivecorners of the upper cover or two supporting members may be coupled tocorresponding opposite lateral surfaces of the upper cover.

Admittedly, it should be noted that the upper cover may be spaced apartfrom the chamber body by a predetermined distance while being supportedby sealing means, in place of being supported by the supporting members.

In the present embodiment, it is desirable that fastening means befurther provided at corresponding locations of opposite lateral surfacesof the upper cover. The fastening means are for use in the coupling ofan upper cover opening/closing device, which is independently providedand operated from the FPD manufacturing apparatus of the presentembodiment. The upper cover opening/closing device is designed tohorizontally move and rotate the upper cover. Accordingly, as thefastening means are coupled to the upper cover opening/closing device,the upper cover can be horizontally moved and rotated by theopening/closing device.

Third Embodiment

Referring to FIG. 7 illustrating an FPD manufacturing apparatus 200according to the third embodiment of the present embodiment, the FPDmanufacturing apparatus 200 comprises a lower chamber 210; an upperchamber 220; a horizontal drive unit 230; and a rotating unit 240. Thelower and upper chambers 210 and 220 have downwardly inclined couplingsurfaces, which extend in a movement direction of the upper chamber 220.That is, the coupling surfaces of both the lower and upper chambers 210and 220 are inclined in a specific direction, i.e. are inclineddownwardly in the movement direction of the upper chamber 220, ratherthan being horizontally parallel to the ground surface. With theinclined coupling surfaces of the lower and upper chambers 210 and 220,the upper chamber 220 can be easily separated from the lower chamber 210as it horizontally slides on the lower chamber 210 without frictiontherebetween. This eliminates the necessity of lifting the upper chamber220 by a predetermined height in order to prevent generation of frictionbetween the lower and upper chambers 210 and 220 upon opening of theupper chamber 220. Accordingly, the FPD manufacturing apparatus 200 ofthe present embodiment does not requires any vertical drive units,achieving a simplified structure and reduced manufacturing costs.

To securely maintain air-tightness of the chambers, it is desirable thata sealing member 250 be interposed between the coupling surfaces of thelower and upper chambers 210 and 220. Accordingly, one of the couplingsurfaces of the lower and upper chambers 210 and 220 is formed with asealing member arrangement recess 260 for the insertion of the sealingmember 250. As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, and 9A and 9B, the sealingmember arrangement recess 260 is configured such that an entrance isnarrower than an interior space of the recess to prevent the sealingmember 250 from being unintentionally separated from the recess 260after being inserted. As the sealing member 250 having a predeterminedflexibility is deformed upon receiving an external force, the sealingmember 250 can be stably inserted so as not to be easily separated fromthe recess 260.

In the present embodiment, it is desirable that the sealing member 250be capable of varying a relative position with respect to the couplingsurfaces of the chambers. Specifically, a fraction of the sealing member250 differently protrudes out of the sealing member arrangement recess260 in accordance with the positional relationship between the sealingmember 250 and the recess 260, so that the relative position of thesealing member 250 can be varied in accordance with the opening/closingprocedure of the upper chamber 220. However, due to the fact that theupper chamber 220 is opened or closed via only horizontal movementwithout vertical lifting, the sealing member 250 may be damaged when itprotrudes out of the sealing member arrangement recess 260 uponhorizontal movement of the upper chamber 220. Accordingly, it isdesirable that the sealing member 250 is completely lowered into therecess 260 during horizontal movement of the upper chamber 220, andthen, protrudes out of the recess 260 only while a vacuum atmosphere isestablished in the chambers, thereby serving to maintain air-tightnessof the chambers.

In the present embodiment, the relative position of the sealing member250 can vary in following three methods.

A first method is to utilize a sealing member drive unit 270, whichapplies a mechanical force to the sealing member 250 to vary therelative position of the sealing member 250, as shown in FIGS. 8A and8B. The sealing member drive unit 270 is arranged in the sealing memberarrangement recess 260 on the inside of the sealing member 250. Thedrive unit 270 has a piston structure to push the sealing member 250outward from the recess 260. In conjunction with a variation in theposition of the sealing member 250, it is desirable that the entirety ofthe sealing member 250 be equally forced and displaced for the sake ofmaintenance of air-tightness of the chambers. To serve as a mediator foruniformly transmitting force from the sealing member drive unit 270 tothe sealing member 250, a force transfer plate 272 is interposed betweenthe sealing member 250 and the drive unit 270.

With the above-described first method, the sealing member 250 is locatedin the sealing member arrangement recess 260 in a retracted state of thepiston type drive unit 270 as shown in FIG. 8A. Then, if the drive unit270 is extended to push the sealing member 250 out of the recess 260,the sealing member 250 is pushed out of the recess 260 as shown in FIG.8B, to maintain air-tightness of the chambers.

A second method is to utilize a pneumatic sealing member drive unit 270a received in the sealing member arrangement recess 260, as shown inFIGS. 9A and 9B. The pneumatic sealing member drive unit 270 a isconnected to an external air pump (not shown), so that the drive unit270 a is expanded if air is injected thereinto, and is also constrictedat the same time with discharge of the air. Likewise, it is preferredthat a force transfer plate 272 a be interposed between the sealingmember 250 and the drive unit 270 a.

Accordingly, to maintain air-tightness of the chambers, first, air isinjected into the sealing member drive unit 270 a by the air pump toexpand the drive unit 270 a. The expanded drive unit 270 a pushes thesealing member 250 out of the sealing member arrangement recess 260 asshown in FIG. 9A, thereby allowing the chambers to be hermeticallysealed. Conversely, when the opening/closing operations of the upperchamber 220 are carried out, the air injected in the drive unit 270 a isdischarged by the air pump so that the drive unit 270 a is constricted.As a result, the sealing member 250 is again lowered into the recess 260as shown in FIG. 9B.

A third method is to provide a sealing member 250 a with an inner airpassage 252 a so that the sealing member 250 a can be pneumaticallyexpanded or constricted, as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B. In this case,the sealing member 250 a is directly connected to an external air pump(not shown) to be expanded or constricted. Accordingly, when it isdesired to maintain air-tightness of the chambers, air is injected intothe sealing member 250 a by use of the air pump, so that a fraction ofthe sealing member 250 a protrudes out of the sealing member arrangementrecess 260 as shown in FIG. 10B. Then, when the opening/closingoperations of the upper chamber 220 are carried out, the air injected inthe sealing member 250 a is discharged by the air pump so that thesealing member 250 a is constricted and is completely received in therecess 260 as shown in FIG. 10A.

The horizontal drive unit 230 is used to horizontally move the upperchamber 220. In the present embodiment, a pair of horizontal drive units230 normally supports the upper chamber 220, so that they horizontallymove the upper chamber 220 to separate the upper chamber 220 from thelower chamber 210. Referring again to FIG. 7, each of the horizontaldrive units 230 includes an elongated horizontal guide 232 for providinga horizontal movement path, and a horizontal drive motor 234 to movealong the horizontal guide 232. The drive motor 232 has a wheel shapecapable of moving in a state of being coupled with the horizontal guide234.

The rotating unit 240 serves to rotate the upper chamber 220. In thepresent embodiment, a pair of the rotating units 240 is coupled tocentral positions of opposite lateral surfaces of the upper chamber 220,and each has a motor to rotate the upper chamber 220. As shown in FIG.7, the rotating units 240 are integrally formed with the respectivehorizontal drive units 230. Accordingly, the rotating units 240 arefirst moved along with the horizontal drive units 230, and then, act torotate the upper chamber 220 after the upper chamber 220 is moved to becompletely separated from the lower chamber 210 by the horizontal driveunits 230.

Hereinafter, the opening/closing procedure of the upper chamber 220provided in the FPD manufacturing apparatus 200 according to the presentembodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 11A and 11B.

First, as shown in FIG. 11A, the upper chamber 220 is horizontallymoved. In this case, prior to beginning horizontal movement of the upperchamber 220, the sealing member 250 is lowered by use of the sealingmember drive unit 270 to prevent the sealing member 250 from coming intocontact with the upper chamber 220. Subsequently, the upper chamber 220is moved by use of the horizontal drive units 230 to a position thatsecures a sufficient rotation radius thereof

After that, as shown in FIG. 11B, the upper chamber 220 is rotated.Specifically, the rotating units 240 are driven to rotate the upperchamber 220 by 180 degrees, so that various elements provided in theupper chamber 220 are opened upward to the outside.

In such an upwardly opened state of the upper chamber 220, anymaintenance and repair operations with respect to the upper chamber 220are carried out. After that, the upper chamber is closed by performingthe above-described opening procedure in reverse.

Fourth Embodiment

The present embodiment provides an upper cover opening/closing deviceusable with a plurality of vacuum chambers arranged adjacent to oneanother.

Generally, to couple a first upper cover to a corresponding first vacuumchamber, the upper cover opening/closing device is moved to a positionclose to the first vacuum chamber. Also, to separate or couple anothersecond upper cover from or to a corresponding second vacuum chamber, theopening/closing device is moved to the second vacuum chamber to open thesecond upper cover at a position close to the second vacuum chamber.

The upper cover opening/closing device according to the presentembodiment includes a cover loading unit 320, which serves to supportand rotate an upper cover 312 separated from a vacuum chamber 310.

In a state wherein the upper cover 312 is disposed thereon, the coverloading unit 320 is moved close to the vacuum chamber 310, so that theupper cover 312 is shifted onto the top of the vacuum chamber 310 by useof a crane or other transportation means. In this case, to shift andcouple the upper cover 312 to the vacuum chamber 310, the upper cover312 is provided at an upper surface thereof with a plurality ofconnecting loops (not shown).

In operation, first, the cover loading unit 320 moves the upper cover312 seated thereon to a position close to the vacuum chamber 310.Subsequently, the cover loading unit 320 shifts and couples the uppercover 312 to the top of the vacuum chamber 310 by use of a crane, whichis normally arranged in an upper region of a clean room. For thefastening of the crane, the cover loading unit 320 is provided atopposite lateral sides thereof with upwardly protruding extensions eachhaving a central recess defined at an upper end thereof, and the uppercover 312 is provided at opposite lateral sides thereof with outwardlyprotruding pins, so that the pins of the upper cover 312 are seated onan upper end of the cover loading unit 320. After that, the upper cover312 is rotated by rotating drive units (not shown) arranged around arotation axis, for easy coupling to the vacuum chamber 310 or forexposure of the interior thereof.

The upper cover opening/closing device of the present embodiment furtherincludes a track unit 350, serving as a rail. The track unit 350 isconfigured to allow the cover loading unit 320 to move close to arespective one of the vacuum chambers 310 while moving from one vacuumchamber 310 to another.

Beneath each of the vacuum chambers 310 is provided a supporting table340 for locating the vacuum chamber 310 at a proper height whileprotecting the vacuum chamber 310 from external shock. Similarly,beneath the cover loading unit 320 is provided a supporting die 330.

As shown in FIG. 14A, the track unit 350 of the present embodimentincludes: main tracks 352 arranged parallel to an arrangement directionof a plurality of the vacuum chambers 310, and auxiliary tracks 354arranged perpendicular to the main tracks 352 to define a movement pathtoward a respective one of the vacuum chambers 310. The main tracks 352are a pair of bars, having a male cross section, to allow the supportingdie 330 of the cover loading unit 320 to move parallel to the vacuumchambers 310. The auxiliary tracks 354 are pairs of bars connectedperpendicular to the main tracks 352 to allow the supporting die 330 ofthe cover loading unit 320 to move toward or away from the respectivevacuum chambers 310. Here, a pair of the auxiliary tracks 354 isallotted to a respective one of the vacuum chambers 310.

At a lowermost portion of the cover loading unit 320, i.e. at a lowersurface of the supporting die 330, is provided a recessed movable block332. The movable block 332 of the supporting die 330 is seated on thetrack unit 350 to move longitudinally or transversely in a state ofbeing in contact with an upper surface of the track unit 350.

The recessed movable block 332 is provided at corners thereof withdownwardly extending protrusions. Thus, to prevent the protrusions ofthe movable block 332 from being caught when the supporting die 330slides on the upper surface of the track unit 350, the track unit 350 isformed with recesses 356 at predetermined locations around intersectionsof the main and auxiliary tracks 352 and 354. Also, stoppers 358 areprovided at predetermined locations around the intersections of thetrack unit 350 to restrict the supporting die 330 at a predeterminedexact position where the cover loading unit 320 is coaxially alignedwith a desired one of the vacuum chambers 310.

Rigid spherical friction reducing means (not shown) are provided atcontact portions between the supporting die 330 and the track unit 350to come into rolling contact with the bottom of the supporting die 330or the upper surface of the track unit 350, so that the supporting die330 can move with a minimized frictional resistance.

In addition, drive means (not shown) is provided on the track unit 350to provide electric power required to move the supporting die 330 of thecover loading unit 320 longitudinally or transversely along the trackunit 350.

The drive unit also serves to drive and control the friction reducingmeans. Here, the friction reducing means are oriented in Y-axis andX-axis directions to longitudinally or transversely move on the trackunit 350.

FIG. 14B illustrates a track unit 350′ according to an alternativeembodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 14B, the trackunit 350′ includes main tracks 352′ arranged parallel to the arrangementdirection of the vacuum chambers 310, and auxiliary tracks 354′ arrangedperpendicular to the main tracks 352′ to provide a movement path towarda respective one of the vacuum chambers 310. The main tracks 352 are apair of bars having a female cross section to define a movement groove356′ therein. The main tracks 352′ extend to allow a supporting die 330′of a cover loading unit 320′ to move parallel to the vacuum chambers310. The auxiliary tracks 354′ are pairs of bars connected perpendicularto the main tracks 352′ to allow the supporting die 330′ of the coverloading unit 320′ to move toward or away from a respective one of thevacuum chambers 310. Each of the auxiliary tracks 354′ is formed withthe movement groove 356′ therein, and a pair of the auxiliary tracks354′ is allotted to a respective one of the vacuum chambers 310.

At a lowermost portion of the cover loading unit 320′, i.e. at a lowersurface of the supporting die 330′, are provided cubic movable blocks332′. The movable blocks 332 of the supporting die 330 are seated on thetrack unit 350′ to move longitudinally or transversely in a state ofbeing in contact with an upper surface of the track unit 350′.

The movable blocks 332 are provided near corners of the lower surface ofthe supporting die 330′. The movable blocks 332 are inserted into thegrooves 356′ of the track unit 350′ to move longitudinally ortransversely in a state of being in contact with the track unit 350′, sothat the supporting die 330′ can smoothly slide on the track unit 350′without risk of unintentional separation.

Stoppers 358′ are provided at predetermined locations aroundintersections of the main and auxiliary tracks of the track unit 350′.The stoppers 358′ serve to restrict the supporting die 330′ at apredetermined exact position where the cover loading unit 320′ iscoaxially aligned with a desired one of the vacuum chambers 310.

Rigid spherical friction reducing means (not shown) are provided at acontact region between the supporting die 330′ and the track unit 350′to come into rolling contact with the lower surface of the supportingdie 330′ or the upper surface of the track unit 350′, so that thesupporting die 330′ can move with a minimized frictional resistance.

Here, it is desirable that the friction reducing means has a sphericalshape suitable to move in any directions.

Drive means (not shown) is provided on the track unit 350′, to provideelectric power required to transversely or longitudinally move thesupporting die 330′ of the cover loading unit 320′.

The number of vacuum chambers 310 may be increased or decreased inaccordance with a process to be performed, and accordingly, the numberand length of the track unit 350 or 350′ may be increased or decreased.

Hereinafter, the procedure for coupling an upper cover to acorresponding processing chamber, performed by the upper coveropening/closing device according to the present invention, will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 12, 13, 14A and 14B.

For example, when it is necessary to repair various elements, such aselectrodes, arranged in the vacuum chamber 310 or to inspect the innersurface of the upper cover 312, the upper cover 312 is separated fromthe top of the vacuum chamber 310. Then, the upper cover 312 has to beagain coupled to the top of the vacuum chamber 310 after any repair orinspection operations are completed. For the coupling or separation ofthe upper cover 312, after the upper cover 312 is seated on the coverloading unit 320 or 320′ under operation of rotation drive units of apositioning system, the cover loading unit 320 or 320′ may be orientedin a Y-axis direction to move toward or away from a respective one ofthe vacuum chambers 310 along the track unit 350 or 350′, or may beoriented in an X-axis direction to move from one vacuum chamber 310 toanother along the track unit 350 or 350′. The track unit 350 or 350′ hasa lattice pattern extending in Y-axis and X-axis directions.

Accordingly, if the cover loading unit 320 or 320′ is moved to aposition close to a desired one of the vacuum chambers 310 along thetrack unit 350 and 350′ so that the cover loading unit 320 is coaxiallyaligned with the vacuum chamber 310, hooks of a crane provided in anupper region of a clean room are caught by the connecting loops of theupper cover 312 that is seated on the cover loading unit 320 or 320′. Inthis way, the upper cover 312 is moved toward the vacuum chamber 310 andbe lowered to an exact position on the top of the vacuum chamber 310,whereby the upper cover 312 can be easily coupled to the vacuum chamber310.

Separation of the upper cover 312 from the vacuum chamber 310 isperformed in reverse to the above-described coupling procedure.

Then, when it is desired to couple another second upper cover 312 to acorresponding second vacuum chamber 310, the cover loading unit 320 or320′ is moved from one vacuum chamber 310 to another. In this case, theposition of the cover loading unit 320 or 320′ is restricted by thestoppers 358 or 358′ so as not to escape a predetermined movement path.Accordingly, the cover loading unit 320 or 320′ can move to a positionwhere it is coaxially aligned with the desired vacuum chamber 310.

In summary, to couple the upper cover 312 to the vacuum chamber 310, thecover loading unit 320 or 320′, on which the upper cover 312 is seated,is moved in a sliding manner along the lattice patterned track unit 350or 350′, so that the cover loading unit 320 or 320′ is coaxially alignedwith the vacuum chamber 310, whereby the upper cover 312 can beconveniently shifted and coupled to the vacuum chamber 310.

Fifth Embodiment

Referring to FIG. 15, an FPD manufacturing apparatus according to thepresent embodiment comprises: a vacuum chamber 410; an upper cover 420;and a linkage 430 as an upper cover opening/closing device. The vacuumchamber 410 is located at a proper height and is adapted to perform adesired process for a substrate positioned therein. The vacuum chamber410 has an opening at an upper side thereof for maintenance and repairoperations of equipment arranged therein. The upper cover 420 isdisposed on the upper side of the vacuum chamber 410 to hermeticallyseal the vacuum chamber 410. The upper cover 420 serves to open or closea passage for the installation or removal of the equipment arranged inthe vacuum chamber 410. The linkage 430 is arranged at a side of thevacuum chamber 410 to couple or separate the upper cover 420 to or fromthe vacuum chamber 410.

The linkage 430 includes: a base 432 seated on the floor; a drive shaft436 extending between opposite inner sidewalls of the base 432; a pairof drive links 438 having lower ends fixed to opposite ends of the driveshaft 436, respectively; a follower shaft 444 extending between theinner sidewalls of the base 432 parallel to the drive shaft 436; a pairof follower links 446 having lower ends fixed to opposite ends of thefollower shaft 444, respectively, to rotate in positions parallel to thedrive links 438; a pair of connection links 456 to hinge upper ends ofthe drive links 438 to the upper cover 420, to pivotally supportopposite sides of the upper cover 420; and drive means 452 having oneend fixed to the drive shaft 436 and the other end fixed to the base 432and adapted to rotate the drive shaft 436 by a proper angle.

The base 432 is a rectangular frame in which a plurality of reinforcingmembers crosses therethrough. The base 432 is provided, at the center ofa rear end thereof opposite to the vacuum chamber 410, with a pair ofupright connector plates 434, so that the other end of the drive means452 is hinged between the connector plates 434 to freely pivot about theconnector plates 434. Also, at a desired position of an upper surface ofthe base 432 is provided a pressure source to hydraulically orpneumatically pressure the drive means 452.

The drive shaft 436 has a horizontally extending rod shape. The driveshaft 436 is centrally provided with a triangular connector 448 havingarched opposite ends, so that a piston rod of the drive means 452 isconnected to the connector 448. A pair of outer sidewalls for thefixation of the drive links 438 is provided on the outside of therespective inner sidewalls that are used to fix the ends of the driveshaft 436.

Each of the drive links 438 has an elongated bar shape, and is dividedinto a fixed link 440 and a movable link 442. The movable link 442 isreceived in the fixed link 440 to be gradually extended out of the fixedlink 440 according to a reciprocating movement thereof. One end of thefixed link 440 is hinged to the drive shaft 436, and the movable link442 is hinged to an associated one of the connection links 456.

The follower shaft 444 has a horizontally extending rod shape, and isfixed to the opposite sidewalls of the base 432 to be positioned at aside of the drive shaft 436 opposite to the vacuum chamber 410. Thefollower links 438 are hinged to the respective outer sidewalls, whichare provided on the outside of the inner sidewalls that are used to fixthe ends of the follower shaft 444.

Each of the follower links 446 has an elongated contractile bar shape.The lower end of the follower link 446 is fixed to the follower shaft444, and the upper end of the follower link 446 is hinged to anassociated one of the connection links 456. The follower link 446normally maintains a fixed length, but is selectively contracted whenthe upper cover 420 is lowered close to the floor. Between the followerlinks 446 are interposed one or more rod shaped connecting rods 450, touniformly distribute load applied to the follower links 446 upon pivotalrotation.

The reason why the respective drive links 438 are configured so that themovable link 442 is gradually extended out of the fixed link 440 andeach follower link 446 has a contractile structure is that, when thelinks 438 and 446 operate to rotate the upper cover 420 by 180 degreeswhile supporting opposite ends of the upper cover 420 and to lower theinverted upper cover 420 to a position suitable for desired maintenanceand repair operations, the links 438 and 446 can be easily lowered tolower the upper cover 420.

The drive means 452 includes a hydraulically or pneumatically operablecylinder, and the piston rod received in the cylinder to be extended outof the cylinder under the influence of fluid or gas. A connector 454 isprovided at one end of the piston rod, and is hinged to the connector448 provided on the drive shaft 436 so as not to be unintentionallyseparated therefrom. The other end of the piston rod is hinged betweenthe connector plates 434 that are centrally provided at the rear edge ofthe base 432. Thereby, One end of the drive means 452 is fixed to thedrive shaft 436 and the other end is fixed to the base 432, so that thedrive means 452 pivotally rotates about the connector plates 434 of thebase 432 by a predetermined angle.

Alternatively, the drive means 452 may have a screw jack in place of thecylinder to pivotally rotate the drive shaft 436 by a proper angle.

Each connection link 456, to which an upper end of the movable link 442of the drive link 438 and the upper end of the follower link 446 arehinged, is provided therein with a rotation drive unit (not shown) toprovide a drive force required to rotate the upper cover 420 by apredetermined angle. The rotation drive unit (not shown) is supported bya protrusion (not shown), which extends from a lateral surface of theupper cover 420 into the connection link 456.

The upper cover 420 is opened or closed via a pivotal rotation movementof the linkage 430. With such a pivotal rotation movement, differentlyfrom the prior art wherein an upper cover is moved by a crane providedat the top of a clean room or is moved to a rotatable position in astate of being lifted by a predetermined height by use of separateequipment, the upper cover 420 is moved along a parabolic orbit underoperation of the four links of the linkage 430, so that verticallifting, horizontal movement, and inversion rotation of the upper cover420 can be carried out via a subsequent single process.

Now, the opening/closing procedure of the upper cover carried out by thelinkage 430 according to the present embodiment will be described withreference to FIGS. 16A to 16E. First, in a state wherein the upper cover420 is mounted on the top of the vacuum chamber 410, a pressure isapplied to the drive means 452 so that the piston rod of the drive means452 is retracted into the cylinder by a desired length. The retractedpiston rod pulls the connector 448, which is rotatably coupled to thedrive shaft 436 while being coupled to the end of the piston rod,thereby causing the connector 448 to rotate toward the drive means 452.As a result, the connector 448 acts to rotate the drive shaft 436 towardthe drive means 452.

After that, the drive links 438, coupled to opposite ends of the driveshaft 436, are rotated along with the rotating drive shaft 436, andsimultaneously, the follower links 446, which are arranged at a side ofthe drive links 438 and are coupled to opposite ends of the followershaft 444, are rotated. Such rotation of the links 438 and 446 causesthe connection links 456, to which the upper ends of the links 438 andlinks 446 are hinged, to be move along a parabolic orbit.

With the use of the linkage 430 consisting of the drive links 438,follower links 446, and connection links 456, when the upper cover 420reaches a proper position as the drive means 452 rotates the drive shaft436 by use of the connector 448 and the retractable piston rod, theupper cover 420 can be rotated by a predetermined angle, i.e. 180degrees, under operation of the rotation drive units provided in theconnection links 456 while being supported at opposite lateral surfacesthereof by the connection links 456. Here, the proper position of theupper cover 420 is a position where the connecting rods 450 interposedbetween the follower links 446 do not collide with corners of the vacuumchamber 410 upon rotation of the upper cover 420.

After that, if the upper cover 420 is rotated so that a bottom surfaceof the upper cover 420 faces upward, the piston rod of the drive means452 is retracted to the maximum extent, so that the drive links 438 aretilted toward the drive means 452, and simultaneously, the followerlinks 446 are tilted parallel to the drive links 438 toward the drivemeans 452 via the connection links 456. In such a tilted state, themovable links 442 are inserted into the fixed links 440, and thefollower links 446 are contracted, so that the upper cover 420 islowered to a position where an operator may conveniently perform anymaintenance and repair operations while standing on the floor.

Sixth Embodiment

Referring to FIG. 17, an FPD manufacturing apparatus according to thepresent embodiment comprises: a cassette (not shown), on which aplurality of substrates (not shown), to be processed in the FPDmanufacturing apparatus, is stacked; transportation means for loadingthe substrates stacked on the cassette into a chamber and again stackingsubstrates, completely processed in the FPD manufacturing apparatus, onthe cassette; a load lock chamber 510; a transfer chamber 520; and aprocessing chamber 530. Each of the load lock chamber 510, transferchamber 520, and processing chamber 530 has an entrance/exit port forthe intercommunication of the chambers, and a gate valve is provided toopen or close a respective one of the entrance/exit port. The transferchamber 520 is provided, at an upper end thereof, with an upper cover522 and a pair of horizontal drive units 550 each having alongitudinally extending horizontal guide 554 and a supporting unit 552.

Explaining the transfer chamber 520 in more detail, a transfer robot 540is provided in the transfer chamber 520 to transfer a substrate to theload lock chamber 510 or processing chamber 530. A pair of thehorizontal guides 554 is provided at upper locations on outer lateralwall surfaces of the transfer chamber 520 to extend in the samedirection.

As shown in FIGS. 18, 19A and 19B, the upper cover 522 is disposed incontact with the upper end of the transfer chamber 520 to open thetransfer chamber 520 when it is necessary to repair the transfer robot540 received in the transfer chamber 520. Between coupling surfaces ofthe upper cover 522 and the transfer chamber 520 is provided anair-tightness member (O). In this case, at least one of the couplingsurfaces of the upper cover 522 and the transfer chamber 520 is formedwith an air-tightness member arrangement recess for the insertion of theair-tightness member (O).

The upper cover 522 is provided at opposite sides thereof with thesupporting units 552, and protrusions 524 for the fixation of thesupporting units 552. The supporting units 552 are coupled to theprotrusions 524, respectively, in a horizontally movable manner.

According to an example, the horizontal guide 554 of each horizontaldrive unit 550 has a square pole shape and is configured to extendtoward the processing chamber 530 that is level with the transferchamber 520. The supporting unit 552 of the horizontal drive unit 550serves to horizontally move the upper cover 522 in a state of being incontact with an upper surface of the horizontal guide 554.

Although not shown, the horizontal guide 554 is foldable upward oroutward about a middle location thereof. With such a structure, when itis unnecessary to open or close the upper cover 522 because the transferrobot 540 provided in the transfer chamber 520 requires no repair, ahalf section of the longitudinally extending horizontal guide 554 on theoutside of the middle location can be pivotally rotated upward oroutward to prevent the horizontal guide 554 from affecting operation ofanother chamber.

The transfer chamber 520 has to be sized to have a height and widthlarger than those of the processing chamber 530. This is to preventhorizontal movement of the upper cover 522 provided at the transferchamber 520 from being hindered by the processing chamber 530.

Now, the opening/closing procedure of the transfer chamber provided inthe plasma processing apparatus according to the present embodiment willbe explained with reference to FIGS. 19A and 19B.

For example, when it is necessary to move the defective transfer robot540 provided in the transfer chamber 520 to an external repair station,first, the supporting units 552 are drive to slide on the horizontalguides 554, so that the upper cover 522, disposed in contact with theupper end of the transfer chamber 520, is pushed to move along thelongitudinally extending horizontal guides 554, thereby opening thetransfer chamber 520.

If the transfer chamber 520 is completely opened, the transfer robot 540is moved to an external maintenance and repair station by use of acrane, etc. Then, the transfer robot 540 is returned to an originalposition inside the transfer chamber 520 after completing maintenanceand repair operations, and the upper cover 522 is closed by performingthe opening procedure in reverse.

In the present embodiment, when the upper cover 522 is separated fromthe transfer chamber 520 for the repair of the transfer robot 540, theupper cover 522 is simply horizontally moved to be positioned at a sideof the transfer chamber 520, in place of being lowered to the floor byuse of a crane. Thus, there is no floor space occupied by the separatedupper cover 522.

Referring to FIGS. 20A and 20B, another example of the horizontal driveunit 550 is illustrated. When the upper cover 522 is horizontally movedin a state of being contact with the upper end of the transfer chamber520, friction is caused between the upper cover 522 and the transferchamber 520, thereby causing damage to the air-tightness member (O),which is interposed between the coupling surfaces of the transferchamber 520 and the upper cover 522. Thus, it is desirable that theupper cover 522 be lifted by a desired height to prevent damage to theair-tightness member (O) due to friction.

To lift the upper cover 522, a vertical drive unit (C) is affixed to theprotrusion 524 underneath thereof. Here, each protrusion 524 protrudesfrom the center of an outer lateral wall surface of the upper cover 522,and the vertical drive unit (C) is located in the supporting unit 552that is seated on the upper surface of the horizontal guide 554. If anexternal pneumatic or hydraulic pressure is applied to the verticaldrive unit (C), a drive shaft of the vertical drive unit (C) pushes theprotrusion 524 upward, so that the upper cover 522 having the protrusion524 is lifted to define a gap with the transfer chamber 520.

After being lifted, the upper cover 522 is pushed to be horizontallymoved by the supporting units 522 along the longitudinally extendinghorizontal guides 554 in the upper locations of the outer lateral wallsurfaces of the transfer chamber 520. Thereby, the upper cover 522 canbe horizontally moved while being spaced apart from the transfer chamber520, thereby preventing damage to the air-tightness member (O) due tofriction.

Meanwhile, each supporting unit 522, which horizontally moves in a stateof rolling contact with the horizontal guide 554, is provided at a lowerregion thereof with a friction reduction wheel, to prevent generation ofabrasion and noise upon movement thereof.

As is apparent from the above description, the present inventionprovides the following effects.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is anadvantage in that it is possible to easily separate even a heavy uppercover from a vacuum chamber by use of a simple constituent elementprovided at the vacuum chamber without lifting the heavy upper cover.Also, the first aspect has another advantage in that opening/closingoperations of the upper cover can be automatically performed in asubsequent single process under control of a control unit.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the case ofmaintenance and repair operations, an upper chamber can be openedwithout requiring a vertical lifting operation. This eliminates thenecessity of a large-size air cylinder, achieving a simplification inthe structure of a large-size FPD manufacturing apparatus and reducingmanufacturing costs. Also, the opening/closing procedure of the upperchamber can be simplified, whereby a time required for the maintenanceand repair of the upper chamber can be reduced.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, to rejoin an uppercover, which was separated from the top of a vacuum chamber to shift anyequipment provided in the vacuum chamber to an external station, to thevacuum chamber, the upper cover is moved to a position close to thevacuum chamber and is rotated by a cover loading unit, which slidesalong a predetermined movement path of a track unit that is connected tothe vacuum chamber. With the use of the cover loading unit and the trackunit, the upper cover can be coaxially aligned with the vacuum chamberprior to being coupled. This has the effect of facilitating the couplingof the upper cover.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, to open an uppercover away from a vacuum chamber, an upper cover opening/closing deviceis coupled to the FPD manufacturing apparatus in an independentlyoperable manner. The upper cover opening/closing device includes a baseprovided at a side of the vacuum chamber to be seated on the floor, twopairs of drive links and follower links connected to the base,connection links to hinge upper ends of the drive links and the followerlinks, and drive means to rotate the drive links in a state whereinopposite sides of the upper cover is supported by the connection links.The upper cover opening/closing device, seated on the floor, occupiesonly small floor space and can easily lower the large-size upper coverto a position where desired maintenance and repair operations may beeasily carried out.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a transfer chamberis provided at upper opposite locations thereof with horizontal guides,and an upper cover is provided at opposite sides thereof with supportingunits, so that the supporting units slide on upper surfaces of thehorizontal guides in a rolling contact state. With this configuration,when it is necessary to move a transfer robot positioned in the chamberto an external station, the upper cover can be easily separated from thechamber via a horizontal movement without risk of falling and withoutrequiring a space for keeping the separated upper cover.

Also, when an air-tightness member is provided at one of contactsurfaces between the transfer chamber and the upper cover, theair-tightness member may be damaged due to friction caused duringhorizontal movement of the upper cover. Thus, to solve damage to theair-tightness member upon opening/closing operations, the supportingunits are provided with vertical drive units to lift the upper cover bya proper height.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have beendisclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art willappreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions arepossible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the inventionas disclosed in the accompanying claims.

1. An upper cover opening/closing device for use in a flat panel display (FPD) manufacturing apparatus including a plurality of vacuum chambers, the device comprising: a cover loading unit configured to support and rotate an upper cover that has been separated from any one of the plurality of vacuum chambers; and a track unit that defines a movement path for the cover loading unit amongst the plurality of vacuum chambers, wherein the cover loading unit includes at least one movable block that is coupled to the track unit such that the at least one moveable block is seated on the track unit so as to allow the cover loading unit to move along the track unit and be positioned close to any one of the plurality of vacuum chambers so as to receive a corresponding upper cover therefrom, wherein the track unit includes: main tracks arranged parallel to an arrangement direction of the plurality of vacuum chambers; and auxiliary tracks arranged perpendicular to the main tracks so as to define a plurality of paths that respectively guide the cover loading unit toward the plurality of vacuum chambers, wherein the main tracks and the auxiliary tracks form a lattice with a plurality of intersections through which the at least one moveable block moves so as to guide movement of the cover loading unit along the track unit.
 2. The opening/closing device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the track unit has a male cross section(

), and the movable block to be seated on the track unit has a female cross section(

).
 3. The opening/closing device as set forth in claim 2, further comprising stoppers provided at predetermined locations at intersections of the track unit so as to restrict movement of the cover loading unit on the track unit.
 4. The opening/closing device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the track unit has a female cross section(

), and the movable block to be seated on the track unit has a male cross section(

).
 5. The opening/closing device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a friction reducing device provided at a contact area between the movable block of the cover loading unit and the track unit so as to reduce frictional resistance caused by movement of the cover loading unit.
 6. The opening/closing device as set forth in claim 5, wherein the friction reducing device comprises a plurality of rigid balls.
 7. The opening/closing device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a driver that generates a driving force that moves the cover loading unit in at least one of a longitudinal direction or a transverse direction on the track unit.
 8. The opening/closing device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the at least one moveable block comprises four moveable blocks, one being positioned at each of four corners of a lower surface of the cover loading unit, and wherein a distance between adjacent main tracks corresponds to a distance between moveable blocks at first and second opposite side edges of the cover loading unit, and a distance between adjacent auxiliary tracks corresponds to a distance between moveable blocks at third and fourth opposite side edges of the cover loading unit. 